Charges dropped against aunt of girl, 14, charged with murder

After shaky cell-phone footage of the last minutes of Endia Martin’s life was played for the first time in court Friday, a Cook County judge threw out charges against an aunt of the 14-year-old girl accused of shooting her in a dispute over a boy.

After twice watching a cell phone video of the attack, Judge Donald Panarese Jr. dismissed charges of obstruction of justice and mob action against Vandetta Redwood, 32, who police alleged had encouraged the April 28 confrontation.

Panarese ruled that prosecutors had failed to meet their “minimal burden” that there was probable cause to prosecute Redwood.

Redwood’s niece, a juvenile, faces charges of murder in connection with the shooting of Endia in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Four others, including the accused shooter’s uncle, have also been charged. Authorities said the two girls had a dispute over a boy fueled by comments on social media.

Prosecutors said Redwood had taken part in the mob action and lied to police about being at the scene. A Chicago police detective testified that the juvenile charged with murder had given a .38 Special revolver to Redwood after shooting Endia.

“You guys better kick their ass,” the detective alleged Redwood told the shooter and the other teens earlier as they rode the bus to the scene of the confrontation in the 900 block of West Garfield Boulevard.

In a bid to convince the judge to approve the charges, prosecutors played in court the cell phone video footage of the moments before the murder, shot by an unidentified female who turned it over to police.

The video began as a group of teens walked toward where the outdoor confrontation took place. A man in a wheelchair, presumably Donnell Flora, the alleged shooter’s uncle who was charged with providing the gun used in the shooting – was visible on a street corner.

The group of teens then walked across a parkway, with one dropping their coat in the grass across the street from the home Endia was at. At least one teen then ran up, opened the front door and entered.

Soon after, Endia, wearing a tank top, and another woman in a white sweatshirt came outside. The woman in white held her arms outstretched to keep Endia, who was posturing as if to fight, separated from a group of other teens on the sidewalk near a black steel fence.

At one point a male, apparently in his teens, ran up wielding a bottle in his right hand.

Seconds later, Endia and the woman in white both began running back toward the house and the group outside scattered. The video played in court ended with Martin ascending the stairs.

Prosecutors have said she was shot in the back.

Redwood’s attorney, Mark Almanza, applauded the judge’s ruling.

“I think there was a lot of pressure to make arrests and come down hard on gun crimes and I think (Redwood) may have just been caught up in that,” he said.